Why do animals fight? When do they avoid it?

Essay from the year 2003 in the subject Biology - Behaviour, grade: 2.1 (B), Oxford University (New College), language: English, abstract: Conflict is very common in the animal kingdom. In many cases conflict between animals is resolved by displaying and actual fighting is avoided, but there are also many examples of fighting, some of which end up in the death of the opponent. From observations of animal conflict it is clear that some circumstances are more conductive to fighting than others, that animals do not always fight when given the opportunity and that individuals vary in the readiness with which they resort to fighting. Such differences in agonistic behaviour often reflect an animal's chances of winning or getting injured and the importance of the issue concerned. I am going to examine why animals fight and when they avoid it.